Custom 17mm 5Amp PWM-less linear driver-preliminary

[led4power]

@shrike3612

You’re right. Ramping is good. But I used to with fixed mode option. I just want to know fixed mode firmware will be done. Can you do that? How many circuits do I have to buy if I want my own modes option?

I'm not sure if I understand.Do you want a combination of fixed modes(0.3%,1.5%,20%,100% or similar) but with additional ramping ability between those modes?

Currently,you have 3 different e-switch UI's:

1st:single press->next mode,double press->previous mode,long press from off state->high mode

2nd:ramping

3rd:single press on-off,double press->next mode

More details in OP.

@LSX

So are we any closer to a date when this will be released for sale? I’m in for at least 6 if they are around $15 each.

When I open selling thread,seriously,I can't guarantee nothing,but I hope for about 4-5 weeks,when all parts and pcbs arrive+time for assembly.

[HarleyQuin]

Hmmm… while you are in the process of tweaking…

In regard of the standard 3 (4) mode you might reconsider the spacing.
HKJ’s brightness tests show this:

Second column shows brightness in percent as 0.75 / 2.64 / 32.4 / 100.
VeryLow to Low is factor 3.5
Low to Medium is factor 12.3
Medium to High is factor 3.1

So there is only a little gap from VeryLow to Low, a huge increase in brightness to Medium, followed again by a much less significant increase to High.

I’d suggest to considerably lower the Medium mode to smoothen the steps.

I’d also suggest to lower the VeryLow, as 22mA is too high for a VeryLow mode especially with this efficiency. The first Qlite revision had 20mA as “Moon” which was considered completely useless. Simply too bright. And Qlite is a PWM driver so your driver will be even brighter at 22mA. 10mA might be a good compromise, not Moon, but a good VeryLow.

[Tom_E]

In my testing in a HD2010, the low-low appears to be close to the low, and big jump to medium, and big jump to hi. I'd suggest up'ing the low a little, and up'ing the medium slightly. The low is nice as-is if you have the low-low disabled, but combined with the low-low, they seem too close. 36% or so of brightness in medium would be nice, and 4-5% in brightness for low.

Just my own opinions of course .

[musicmagic]

@led4power

@LSX

So are we any closer to a date when this will be released for sale? I’m in for at least 6 if they are around $15 each.

When I open selling thread,seriously,I can’t guarantee nothing,but I hope for about 4-5 weeks,when all parts and pcbs arrive+time for assembly.

Are you hand assembling the drivers?

[HarleyQuin]

@Tom E

In my testing in a HD2010, the low-low appears to be close to the low, and big jump to medium, and big jump to hi. I’d suggest up’ing the low a little, and up’ing the medium slightly. The low is nice as-is if you have the low-low disabled, but combined with the low-low, they seem too close. 36% or so of brightness in medium would be nice, and 4-5% in brightness for low.

Just my own opinions of course .

So it’s not theoretical but visible in practical use.

Yeah, modes is a matter of taste and led4power will never please ’em all.
I like an 80mA Low, so I’d keep it and prefer something like 10mA / 80mA / 750mA / 5000mA.

If Medium is already 1/3 Brightness of High, it takes the fun away… you know, the Wow-Factor. (“Oooooh, that’s bright!” - - - “That’s only Medium, my friend…”) J)

But, joking aside, the only thing that truly matters is that any mode change should neither be huge nor insignificant.

[eebowler]

Led4power, would you be able to provide this driver in a max 3A output version? I love the current controlled/ greater efficiency aspect of this driver but have little use for a 5A mode. I also assume that since max output is less, the actual output of the lowest mode would be less too? IMHO, ~21lumens (as Tom E’s preliminary tests showed) is a too high for me.

[led4power]

Yes,I know that low-low is too bright,this is the lowest with current hardware.You must understand that sense voltage at 20mA on 10mohm shunt is 0.02*0.01= 200uV (microvolts!).Input offset voltage of current op-amp on your test drivers is 150uV,which is much better than typical few mV for common op-amps such as lm358,but even 150uV is not good enough for <20mA.

So,I already have a prototype with auto-zero op-amp with 8uV max. input offset(pretty exotic and expensive stuff).

With this I got nice 12-13mA on full battery,and that linearly drops to around 8mA when battery is empty(2.8V).On Low-low mode current linearly drops with battery voltage because of finite(10-bit) voltage reference resolution,but I think this is actually good,no noticeable change in brightness and slightly extended run time.

Maybe I'll do the same with low mode(for ex. 90mA on full battery that linearly drops to 60mA as voltage drops to 2.8V).

Drivers will be hand assembled(stencil for solder paste) for now.

I'll probably offer modes,mode-memory,max. current change for some small fee(cca 2$/driver),for those who don't like stock settings.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

Waiting and watching and hope I can be among the first. I’d love to put this driver in one of the Eagle Eyes X6 lights with an XP-L or XP-G2 de-domed. This would make an excellent EDC in my opinion.

Would potting be good or bad? I’d like to lock it in once in this light, glue in the lens and make it as solidly reliable as possible. Then wear it like a wristwatch. (meaning always have it on me)

With the Low Low straightened out and the Low/Med modes being spaced properly this is a no-brainer for EDC. Great Job! Very much looking forward to it.

And thanks for the testing Tom, prc8 it

[NightSpy]

Very nice. Looking forward to your offerings.

[Tom_E]

Not sure, anyone else test the multiple mode sets in the LD-1 with an e-switch? I'm having trouble using ramping.

[HKJ]

@Tom E

Not sure, anyone else test the multiple mode sets in the LD-1 with an e-switch? I'm having trouble using ramping

I did test it. You first click the light on, then you ramp up.

And be careful not to hold the switch down to long, it must be released when you see the two flashes.

[Tom_E]

Ooops, wut if you hold it too long?

I had it sort of working - least I saw it ramp up, and ramp down, but could not follow the procedure to get it to ramp down. Also there seems like a timeout is involved, like you have it leave it on maybe 3 secs before you can turn it off - really didn't figure it out. I might have "bricked" it now, not sure - waiting to hear back from led4power.

[HKJ]

@Tom E

Ooops, wut if you hold it too long?

Then you get into the functions that requires long presses on the switch. If you check my review I have done a trace where I have marked all the functions on: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/27995

[Tom_E]

Ohhh - crap, think I reset the over-temp setting -- that would explain what I'm seeing, maybe... I'll try the 15 sec reset thing.

[led4power]

I sent you PM Tom.In ramping UI,if e-switch isn't pressed for more than about 1.5sec,it shuts down on next press.

[Tom_E]

It's back to working fine! K, will go a bit slower, carefully this time.

[lagman]

@wight

@lagman

Ok, I’ll do it. I’ll start by explaining Buck, Boost, Linear, Direct Drive. I can always add things later (like Zener diodes, etc.).
I think I’ll do a first part “In a nutshell” and below that a more detailed version with graphs and things for people that want to understand how it really works. I’ll also insist on efficiency.
I only have two 7135 based drivers (I have 2 flashlights, I’m a noob! ) so I’ll have to buy a buck and boost driver if I want to plot some graphs. That will take time.
When led4power releases his driver I’ll try to include it. Unfortunately I didn’t win at the giveaway so that’ll have to wait.
I worked on a high end Buck driver used in Smartphones for 6 months as an intern, so I should be able to give some accurate infos, but I WILL make mistakes so you’ll have to check what I say.

Sounds good. Please PM me so that I don’t miss the thread.

I took my time but here it is! Fell free to make critical comments as this is supposed to be clear for newbies.

Understanding the difference between Linear, Buck, Boost and Direct Drive drivers

A long time ago I promised I would do a topic to explain to the interested layman the difference between Linear, Buck, Boost and Direct Drive drivers. Well, here it is. Direct Drive [image] This is the simplest and cheapest design. As its name implies, it is a direct path to the LED, just like old incandescent flashlights. Sometimes there is a control chip and transistor to create modes (High, Low, Strobe, etc.) by rapidly switching ON and OFF the LED. That’s called PWM. This is used by peop…

[Calmaja]

@led4power

When I open selling thread,seriously,I can’t guarantee nothing,but I hope for about 4-5 weeks,when all parts and pcbs arrive+time for assembly.

For reminder, it’s already 4 weeks, almost 5 weeks….

[DavidEF]

@Calmaja

@led4power

When I open selling thread,seriously,I can’t guarantee nothing,but I hope for about 4-5 weeks,when all parts and pcbs arrive+time for assembly.

For reminder, it’s already 4 weeks, almost 5 weeks….

You missed this part: ” +time for assembly.” But seriously, I’m getting antsy too, ready for this to become available. :bigsmile:

[musicmagic]

For something this unique, I am willing to wait as long as necessary.

I personally am looking to see if the auto-zero version will become available at some point.